If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, then you’ll likely know I was deathly spoilt as a child. If I wanted something, my parents would make sure I got it.

I don’t think being spoilt is always a bad thing, I mean, are you really gonna complain if someone is showering you with everything you’ve ever wanted? But for me, it meant that I was totally useless at doing things for myself by the time I was well into my teenaged years.

Many years later, and I still hadn’t really learnt to do anything (of substance) for myself and after working in five jobs I hated passionately, I decided it was time to get out of the rut which I thought was “just life”.

breaking the cycle

I’ll admit, this one is a lot easier said than done. But there’s a couple of tricks I found that work for me so well that I ver rarely worry about other people’s opinions (besides my dad’s lol) anymore.

Focus on yourself. When you’re busy working on yourself, you barely have any time to worry about whether Suzan thinks what you’re doing is right.

Go out and do something “crazy”, but not dangerous. And by crazy, I mean by society’s standard of crazy. I can’t remember where I got this one from but I watched a video once where a guy would go out and lie on his back in strange places in public. By himself. Places like the pavement in the middle of a city, or on the floor of a train station. Some people will give you a weird look and walk off as if they saw a naked contortionist. Some people will glance at you then go on their merry way. But most people won’t even notice.

It’s not anything physically difficult to do but it’s mentally getting over the obstacle of the thought of what strangers you will likely never see again, think of you. And it’s this thought that has been ingrained into our very core which will stop most people from even trying it.

Trust me. If you can do this one by yourself then you’re pretty much on your way to achieving anything.

Let me know if do it!

realise that no one gives a damn about what you are doing

change things up

This is probably the easiest tip to start doing. It probably should have been at the beginning by why not change things up a bit? See what I did there?

Let me just start by saying that I am not a creature of comfort but if I don’t have some sort of routine in place then all hell will break loose and I probably wouldn’t get anything I’m supposed to do, done.

But there’s a difference between productive routine and a rut and it’s not always easy to distinguish between the two.

Generally, if you’re in a routine that you enjoy then there’s nothing wrong with that. However, if you’re working the same job, day in, day out, for someone you probably couldn’t care less about, doing shit you would rather not, then it’s time to make a few changes.

They don’t need to be big changes, in fact, I advocate for the opposite. Slow and steady usually wins the race doesn’t it? And if we’re aiming towards long term changes then little steps will leave a bigger impact when looking at the bigger picture.

What are some changes you can start implementing right now? Here a quick list to give you some ideas:

Taking a different route to work.

Swapping your exercise class for a walk outside or your usual walk for a session in the gym.

Going to a different cafe to get your regular lunch. Or even better, start bringing your own to work.

Try meditating for 5 or ten minutes a day. I actually have a lot to share with you all on this, so keep checking back so you don’t miss it!

Wear something you usually wouldn’t.

Say hello to a passing stranger.

Wake up 20 minutes earlier.

Do some reading instead of scrolling through social media or watching tv.

be snappy

As in, making snap decisions. Someone who wavers in their decisions doesn’t trust themselves and you can only move out of that comfort zone when you start believing in your own thoughts.

Once you start practicing making quick decisions, you’ll find that it becomes easier, and more importantly, you’ll realise your own truth. You can hardly move out of any comfortable position (including the sofa) if you don’t completely trust in your own self.

But what if it’s the wrong decision?

First of all, this is where the learning begins. None of us a perfect and most of us make bad decisions all of the time. But if you actually realise that the one you chose was wrong then there are two positives that arise from such a situation:

1. You realise what you actually wanted in the first place. It builds up your instinct/gut feeling/intuition and if there’s enough time to change the decision then it works out perfectly and there’s nothing to worry about.

2. You learn something. We can either wallow in our misfortunes and mistakes or we turn it into something positive and a learning experience. It shakes up our routine and forces us (hopefully) to find an alternative that works.

People put so much thought into their decisions which can be a double edged sword. We want to make sure the decision we choose is the right one but our intuition knows much better than what our brain has learnt over the blink of eye which is our lives.

If you make a snap decision and it doesn’t turn out to be the right one then look at it as another step towards changing things up and breaking out of the routine.

I think a lot of us are really hard on ourselves. Especially when we don’t see progress.

What we don’t take notice of is all the progress we’ve made that hasn’t been documented. We are waiting for this sudden shift in consciousness and for a huge overnight change. But most notable changes don’t happen overnight. They happen slowly over time with consistence and a burning desire to make that change come into fruition.

We’re all constantly growing and making changes but if it’s not documented then there’s a very likely chance we won’t ever notice it.

I used to have a huge problem with constantly documenting my progress. Not because I was too lazy to do so (though that was probably part of it).

It was because I was scared of seeing no progress. That I would spend all this time documenting things I did or taking photos to see how much weight I lost, only to see the exact same thing every time I did it.

It was such an irrational fear. I mean, if you’re constantly and consistently striving towards something and you have the desire to see change then there is no reason why that change won’t manifest.

You can’t go from not studying at all to eventually building up to studying several hours without seeing your grades go up.

Just like you can’t eat clean and exercise consistently without seeing changes in your body.

And if change doesn’t show up? Keep at it. All good things take time and if you want something badly enough then you’ll do anything to make it happen. Including not eating the whole bag of chips in one sitting.

And if there’s still no change? Take a step back and assess why that might be. There’s probably something under it all that will show you’re not being true to yourself and your goals.

You can achieve anything you want but you need to make sure you’re keeping tabs on your own self.

Just because you’ve made progress, it doesn’t mean you can’t take a break or return to the comfort that’s kept you safe for so long.

Nothing is negative or positive. It only has that connotation associated with it when we give it a certain meaning.

In the same way, the comfort zone is neither good or bad. It could be good because it’s where you feel safe and it lets you lead a relatively easy life. On the other hand, it could be bad because it inhibits personal growth and development and stops you from pursing your dreams.

It is what you think it is and either way, you’re right.

There’s no reason you can’t make progress and return to comfort temporarily. Remember that we are all on our own journeys and if you need a break from constantly pushing yourself, which we all do, then don’t be afraid to take the rest and return to the growth when you’re ready.

We can definitely have the best of both worlds.

What are your top tips for breaking out of the comfort zone?

P.S. Sorry for the ridiculous amount of photos. I had no idea there was this many until I was coding the post. Needless to say, this post took a few hours longer than usual.

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